Passengers in Greater Manchester are at the losing end of a bus operator’s battle with staff shortages - with more than 800 journeys cancelled in just one week. Rosso, which runs routes predominantly in the north of the conurbation, axed 837 services between April 25 and May 1.
Amounting to the cancellation of an average 100 journeys a day, most of the hit was taken by passengers in Rochdale, with customers in Oldham, Bury and Bolton also impacted. The operator told the Manchester Evening News that all public transport operators had been affected by staff shortages. This is backed by a Unite survey which showed 99pc of depots had workforce gaps, with low pay identified as a primary reason for workers leaving the profession.
But Rosso say that their attempts to add services to timetables rather than reduce them like other firms had made the impact for their passengers more 'pronounced'.
And passengers have suffered. Last Thursday, Rosso cancelled 59 commercial services and 86 which are subsidised by transport bosses, a total of 145. On Friday, a total of 106 services were cancelled in just the afternoon and evening - 28 commercial and 78 subsidised. The M.E.N has asked Rosso for a list of those services to be impacted next week.
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But for customers on Friday, the crisis meant there were no peak time afternoon services on the B2 service to Bury or the R9 Rochdale to Foxholes route. There were also no evening services after 7pm on the 480 from Bury to Greenmount, the B2 Bury service, on the B4 Heywood service, the R9 Rochdale route or the R10 from Rochdale to Shaw. Meanwhile, other services, including the 467 and 468, were slashed in frequency from every 30 minutes to every 90 minutes.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) told the M.E.N they were working with the operator to ‘mitigate’ the impact on passengers. They said they were ensuring school services were given priority, in part by asking other operators to take on routes. They were also looking to subcontract some routes to other providers, while social and digital channels are updating Rosso passengers on what to expect.
In March, a judge ruled that the process by which mayor Andy Burnham had made a decision on bus reform was legal - paving the way for sweeping changes to how services are run in Greater Manchester, with a public ownership model meaning leaders are in control of timetables and fares, with services franchised to operators. Transport bosses are currently waiting to see if operator Rotala will appeal this decision.
Stephen Rhodes, Customer Director and interim head of bus services at TfGM, said: “Rosso has experienced significant operational difficulties over the past week, with more than 100 journeys a day, on average, having been cancelled.
“This has included many subsidised services, which run in areas and at times where there is a lack of alternatives, meaning the impact is being most keenly felt on those most reliant on them. We are working with the operator to prioritise these routes as well as school bus services to minimise the impact on the local community as best as possible.
“The situation is changing on a daily basis, and I’d encourage passengers to check with the operator to ensure they have the latest information before travelling.”
A spokesman for Rosso (Rossendale Transport Limited), a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, said they had operated 'at least 80 per cent' of their journeys last week, adding: "Which we apologise to our customers for - this falls far from our usual standards. It indicates the strength of the challenge our industry faces in terms of recruitment.
"All public transport operators are impacted by this right across the UK, but the difference here is that whilst most operators have reduced timetables in the past few months, we made attempts to increase; this is why the problem is more pronounced. The issues are in spite of our best efforts, including an increase to drivers’ wages by 20pc in the last 18 months.
"We expect the problem will have severely diminished by next week with a target back to 100pc coverage and are working alongside our sister companies, TfGM and other operators to overcome this very short-term issue over the space of a 10 day period. We are updating customers in real time with live departure tracking and disruptions published on the Transdev Go app and at rossobus.co.uk."
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